BB聽力測試

Shiba-Inu

Oops... Not logging in for 1 week makes a huge difference!

Can I make an announcement here : I will have my baby soon (Expected due date is early Oct)! Since it's now only 4 weeks to go, I may just "disappear" for a while anytime....       And hope that I have enough energy to "reappear" pretty soon!

Shiba-Inu

MarchK,

Yeah, I 100% encourage u to enroll in "聾福"o既函授課程. As far as I remember, it is a course offered by a clinic in US with good reputation in helping hearing impaired kids.

Shiba-Inu

Daisy,

“另外一問, 以子喬嘅情況, 如果去做人工耳蝸手術, 唔計$嘅issue, 其实做一隻定兩隻耳仔先好呢 ？”

U asked a million dollar question! For hearing aids, we definitely know that two is better than one if the hearing loss asks for two. However, for CI, although the common sense is still favoring two, there is no large-scale study data to back up this idea yet (well, one such study is moving on now, but no official data until the next 1-2 years!). That’s why govt or insurance companies will usually pay for only one. Also there are voices arguing that the benefit comes with two CI may not worth the cost.
One alternative is, keep the hearing aid on one side after having CI on the other, although the sounds are of different nature (one is acoustic, one is electrical), people seems to be able to make use of them pretty well together.

Shiba-Inu

Kwok,

I agree with reginang, don’t   too early, u are definitely trying your best to help your girl already!

Does your girl have hearing loss only on the right side, or both ears with more severe loss on right side? For the former, it’s called unilateral hearing loss and she can still hear most of the daily conversation using her left ear. She does not need a hearing aid for the time being. However, there are daily strategies that help (I posted it previously, if u can’t find it, I will post again) For the latter, the strategies of helping her depends on the different degree of hearing loss in left and right.

ENT doc, no matter govt or private, cannot do much about hearing loss except in cases like ear infection. Since your girl has the problem since 4 mon old, I don’t think that is the case. However, u may still want them as a 2nd opinion.

If u book 唯聽, it will probably be another hearing test. If u think your girl has had enough hearing tests already (too much and too frequent will make her HATE hearing test and becomes much less cooperative), ask for an ENT referral instead.

Shiba-Inu

Tbo,

Since h/a is some “foreign” things to be put onto the head, some kids really do not like it. Also it depends on how smoothly u can put it on. But relax, sooner or latter she will get use to it.

How old is Sa Sa? If she is a little baby, try to put on mittens on her hands so that she cannot grab the h/a, also u can try taping down the h/a by using surgical tapes. Distract her with as many other events as possible (e.g. colorful toys, bottle) when u put h/a on for her, or once she feels the need to taking it off.

If she is above 2, try to incorporate the wearing of h/a into her morning routine. It’s always a good habit to wear h/a all days long except during sleep/ bath/ swim. So after she wakes up, do the usual brushing, washing face, changing clothes and finally putting on h/a. As Sa Sa is a girl, try to put some hair clips/ ornament at the same time, so that she feels good to put things onto her head.

For both age groups, if she is someone who really does not want anything to be put onto the head, start practicing with a hat/ head band. Do it for yourself as role model too. After she gets used to the idea, then move on to h/a.

Give it a trial!

Shiba-Inu

ABB,

Does your girl have any severe illness during these 2-3 weeks that direct u to worry about her hearing?

Like what Katmami has mentioned, some 2 months old babies can be REALLY sound sleepers and ignore sounds when they are in deep sleep. So your description “沉睡時測試她”, “她食完奶睡著後…” may explain the lack of response.

If u are still worried, u can do the followings:

1. Try the sudden loud sound when she is more alert, or at time when she is kind of sleepy but not falling asleep yet (this is the timing I like most, because u will see clearer response like eye widening). Of course don’t give her any visual/ tactile cues at the same time.

2. Tell MCH your worry and let it repeat the OAE test.

3. In very rare case, babies who have normal OAE can still have hearing loss. So it’s OK to repeat OAE and do the ABR at Phonak, the audiologist should then be able to tell u if that’s the case.

4. There is no research indicating any significant side effect of having ABR test, except if she needs sedation (babies are not recommended to have sedation too frequent)

Good luck!

Shiba-Inu

Thanks everybody for your blessing to my baby and my family! I hope (and I will try my best) to be a good mom!

稚言治語 and Daisy,

Actually u know my good news even earlier than many of my friends in HK! I am keeping it as a “secret” so that they will be surprised by my baby’s birth announcement! And see if they will say something like “無見一排, 連囡都生埋!"     

Shiba-Inu

稚言治語,

Thank you for giving me a hand here! Come often when I am having my "maternity leave"! However, personally I would not recommend hearing aid use for many of the unilateral hearing loss (see below)

Kwok,

I think the result for the left side hearing test should be
Left： (dB) 25____25____25_____5____10

Basically as explained by稚言治語, left side is still considered “within the normal range”. It’s just the right side that has a loss at the high pitch. This condition is called “unilateral hearing loss” and is very difficult to fit hearing aid. The human brain just has a difficult time in combining the “natural” sound from the left ear and the “artificially amplified” sound from the right hearing aid (if there is any). Side effects include headache, dizziness and no perceived benefit from the aid. So we will rather teach the parents some strategies to cope with it:  Acknowledge that your kid will not hear you clearly if you talk on her right side, if you talk while standing far away from her, and if it’s noisy. So try not to get frustrated when she cannot hear clearly under these situations.  Set aside sometime everyday to talk/ sing/ play with her in a quiet room, talk near her left side and let her see your face.

As a 2.5 yr old girl, she is already very good in able to give the audiologist her testing results already. Unilateral hearing loss needs more time in getting reliable results on both sides, that’s why u have the impression that she underwent so many testings.

If u are still thinking of getting 2nd opinion from a private company, then pls check pm for a list of those.

Shiba-Inu

Tbo,

“ Do you think I should quit my job and just take care of her?”

It’s totally up to u. Ideally parents are the best caregivers a kid can have, but we all know the fact that HK people are so hardworking (I think I once read the news saying that the % of female going to work is sky-high in HK compared to other countries). Alternatively, u may think of like taking a week off work to help her building up the routine first.

“My husband also said it is too hot to wear the h/a all the time. So he suggested that we should let Sa Sa's ear "rest" for a while after 15 to 30 mins of wearing the h/a. Do you think it is a practise to start?”

I would suggest the other way round: wear it as long as she can and then “rest” for 15-30 minutes e.g. during feeding

”Also, one of my friend ask me to try 針灸 with her. Do you think I should let her try it?”

Personally, I think Sa Sa is too young to try acupuncture, set aside the fact that there is no documented evidence to support its effect on hearing loss.

Shiba-Inu

ABB,

Congratulation on the +ve results your baby got!

“ She made loud sound on the drum behind her and watched the baby facial expression. .. The audiologist said it is kind of special but she can't tell why. Do you think it is related to autism since she ignores the loud sound?”

The audiologist was looking for a “reflex” (eye blinking) that we normally observe when there is a VERY loud sound. Since it’s a reflex, even autistic kids cannot “ignore” it. So don’t worry along that line.

I agree that’s somewhat “special”. However, sometimes baby’s hearing test results can be confusion because they are too young. For the time being, I would suggest keeping on your good observation, and seek professional advice again if u have any doubt.

Shiba-Inu

Hi there,

I am still hanging around and feeling good. In fact I think my baby “dropped” a little bit starting from yesterday! My OB doc says that she is doing all the things as scheduled!

Tbo,

I think u can wait for EMB’s appointment in Oct, because Sa Sa is already using one hearing aid and she is hearing you with that one. The actual “net” price of that Pxxxxk hearing aid is not that high, and u are paying extra for earmold and tuning which u can get from EMB. Besides, tuning a hearing aid needs a test results to refer to, and the company may then ask u to do it again with them.

Ask EMB for a referral of a 2nd hearing aid (do this before your next apt, then u can get both EM and the referral in Oct), the audiologist will write 2-3 different brands for u to choose from, and u will get a discount.